Thursday, January 10, 2008
Fuck The Real World. I'm An Artist: Volume 3
This edition of FTRWIAA was a collaborative effort. I live with two great roommates (Darryl and Lesley) and this was the result of a "quiet" night at home... Hope you enjoy it in all it's random glory!
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Introducing Your New Favorite Party Promoter: Me
Thanks to Chroma for pointing out this killer promotion from Adidas and Vice Magazine. The premise is simple: create your own music festival - design your poster - win a trip to Berlin. The site is a wonderful mess of nauseating colours, offensive audio, and shitty graphic design and it's brilliant! I actually spent 20 minutes fooling around with this and I have trouble sitting through a 2 minute YouTube video. So good.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
The Greatest Album You Will Never Own
Here's a fun little meme courtesy of Diacritical Hit...
Instructions:
1. The first article title on the Wikipedia Random Articles page is the name of your band.
2. The last four words of the very last quotation on the Random Quotations page is the title of your album.
3. The third picture in Flickr's Interesting Photos From The Last 7 Days will be your album cover.
4. Use your graphics programme of choice to throw them together, and post the result.
Here's mine:
Source: 1 2 3
Instructions:
1. The first article title on the Wikipedia Random Articles page is the name of your band.
2. The last four words of the very last quotation on the Random Quotations page is the title of your album.
3. The third picture in Flickr's Interesting Photos From The Last 7 Days will be your album cover.
4. Use your graphics programme of choice to throw them together, and post the result.
Here's mine:
Source: 1 2 3
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Obligatory Happy New Year Post!
Since this is my very first New Year's Day with a blog, I wasn't quite sure how to tackle the obligatory new year's post. From what I understand, there are two ways to handle the first post of the year: 1) Reflect on the year past or 2) Speculate and/or set goals for the the year to come.
I'm not much for reflection and I won't waste your time with the boring details of my personal resolutions as the image above pretty much sums it up (thanks Ephemerist). So, I decided I would share with you (for both your benefit and my own) my list of 10 new media resolutions... Enjoy!
1) In 2008, I will try learn the difference between pornography and art and stop posting black & white photographs of naked women longingly gazing out of their bedroom windows on FFFFound.
2) In 2008, I will not use Twitter for self promotion unless it is something that makes me look really cool, really smart, or really connected.
3) In 2008, I will not participate in making anything "viral".
4) In 2008, I will not delete cookies so I can be efficiently targeted with advertising and accurately counted through web traffic measurement services.
5) In 2008, I will not un-tag myself in any facebook photos taken of me singing karaoke in my living room at 4am and fully embrace this concept of transparency.
6) In 2008, I will not send text messages during meetings, at the dinner table, or on dates unless I observe something worthy of a cleverly constructed and absolutely hilarious twitter update.
7) In 2008, I will personally meet all of my Internet contacts unless it is too far too travel, too awkward or takes too much time away from being with my real friends.
8) In 2008, I will be honest with myself and my Last.fm followers and finally "love" all ABBA tracks.
9) In 2008, I will stop talking about my start-up idea and actually start thinking about it.
10) In 2008, I will stop Googlling myself in public places.
Monday, December 10, 2007
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Mr. Splashy Pants is an Impostor!
So... Greenpeace is having a whale naming contest and not surprisingly Mr. Splashy Pants is in the lead with 75% of the 100,000 votes to date. Now, I hate to acid rain on Greenpeace's whale of a parade but I have a shocking discovery (I apoligize that my to-the-point title is a bit of a spoiler): Mr. Splashy Pants in an Impostor!
According to this post on the Greenpeace blog, they decided to make their own line of official Mr. Splashy Pants merchandise. Here's a little taste:
Cute isn't he? Look familiar? He should. Because Mr. Splashy Pants was featured in my last post. Here he is again:
Shame on you Greenpeace! I was hoping I could finally contribute to one of my favourite blogs, you thought we wouldn't notice, but had trouble with the registration process. Let's try to fix that guys!
Update: The confirmation e-mail finally came for my registration to You Thought we Wouldn't Notice. Check out the post here. Sweet!
According to this post on the Greenpeace blog, they decided to make their own line of official Mr. Splashy Pants merchandise. Here's a little taste:
Cute isn't he? Look familiar? He should. Because Mr. Splashy Pants was featured in my last post. Here he is again:
Shame on you Greenpeace! I was hoping I could finally contribute to one of my favourite blogs, you thought we wouldn't notice, but had trouble with the registration process. Let's try to fix that guys!
Update: The confirmation e-mail finally came for my registration to You Thought we Wouldn't Notice. Check out the post here. Sweet!
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
5 Trends FFFFound
I've been using FFFFound obsessively for about a month now and what I find most interesting is the trends you start to see emerge by the images being added (FFFFound) and collected (loved). Here are 5 trends:
1.) Umbrellas
2.) Illustrated Animals (especially whales and birds)
3.) Nude or partially clothed attractive women lying in bed looking depressed
4.) Retro Tech
5.) Hearts or anything related to love
Image links: 1 2 3 4 5
My FFFFound
1.) Umbrellas
2.) Illustrated Animals (especially whales and birds)
3.) Nude or partially clothed attractive women lying in bed looking depressed
4.) Retro Tech
5.) Hearts or anything related to love
Image links: 1 2 3 4 5
My FFFFound
Blog Nothing Day Q&A with Gavin Heaton
This will be the last post about Blog Nothing Day for a while, I promise. Just wanted to share with you the Q&A I had with Gavin Heaton for MarketingProfs Daily. Consider this the official Blog Nothing Day postmortem...
GH: What is Blog Nothing Day?
JV: Blog Nothing Day happened on November 26, 2007. The date was arbitrary but the cause was not. Blog Nothing Day was created to raise awareness and show support for the ongoing WGA Writer's Strike. The premise was simple – contribute nothing to the "blogosphere" for 24 hours. No posting, no comments, no user-generated content.
It may seem like an unlikely or even undeserving cause for unpaid bloggers to rally behind but there was one key issue that I believe struck a chord with our community: compensation for works distributed digitally either by DVD or Internet downloads. For many of us, the digital world is not only our playground; it is our bread and butter. It is important to set the precedent now while the digital model is still in its infancy. Not only does this ensure fair compensation for a writer's work, it validates the web as a medium in some sense.
This is obviously important to us geeks. The WGA Writers may drive nicer cars than us but we could still empathize with their fight. As my good friend Dino
Demopoulos put it, "Just because we make no money doing this, doesn't mean they shouldn't."
GH: How many participants did you have?
JV: Since the action was in the inaction, it is impossible to truly get a sense of how many bloggers participated. That being said, we did have 35 confirmed participants promoting the event in advance of the big day.
The number may seem low but keep in mind that these were some very smart and prominent bloggers whose influence reaches far. You might even say to the very tip of the "long tail."
GH: How did you get the word out?
JV: Spreading the word was the easiest part (believe me; not contributing for 24 hours was the hardest). We basically started with a couple of blog posts and a Facebook event and left the rest to the amazing power of social media, as cliché as that sounds.
GH: Silence is an interesting tactic in a time where social media is driving conversation. How do you see this playing out?
JV: Sometimes there are so many conversations going on that silence is the only way to get noticed. Every day seems to be a race to how many blog posts you can complete, friends you can poke, e-mails you can clear, RSS feeds you can read, hits you can get, tweets you can tweet, etc.
And when everyone and everything around you stops, even for just one day, you take notice; At least in my mind.
GH: Do you plan on more activism? Will it follow a similar vein?
JV: I'm not sure Blog Nothing Day constitutes as activism but I suppose it did pop my proverbial cherry. I find it incredibly interesting and even more inspiring to see people with no former relationship or connection join together for a cause they believe in.
Obviously this concept is nothing new but technology has made it so much more obtainable. The web has made is possible to actually see and in real time how you have made an impact on the world around you and it is a very powerful thing. It has always been so difficult for us to realize that one person can make a difference and it is the Internet that is finally allowing us to see this is true.
These are exciting and hopeful times when anyone with a computer can make an impact, even a ripple. You no longer have to be a celebrity, politician, or corporation to have your voice heard. Amen! I'm not sure what's next for me but I am definitely looking forward to it.
GH: What would you do differently next time?
JV: More planning. Definitely more planning. It would have been nice to be able to create a home for Blog Nothing Day that wasn't trapped within Facebook or individual blogs. If we had given ourselves more time, it would have been nice to set up a wiki for everyone to collaborate on.
We also only had less than a week to get the word out… The web is fast but not that fast.
I think some people didn't realize it was Blog Nothing Day until the actual day of the event or even after. I'm thinking we could turn this into an annual thing. Perhaps pick a different cause to support each year and enjoy 24 hours of read-only web. We'll see. A year is a long time away.
Link.
GH: What is Blog Nothing Day?
JV: Blog Nothing Day happened on November 26, 2007. The date was arbitrary but the cause was not. Blog Nothing Day was created to raise awareness and show support for the ongoing WGA Writer's Strike. The premise was simple – contribute nothing to the "blogosphere" for 24 hours. No posting, no comments, no user-generated content.
It may seem like an unlikely or even undeserving cause for unpaid bloggers to rally behind but there was one key issue that I believe struck a chord with our community: compensation for works distributed digitally either by DVD or Internet downloads. For many of us, the digital world is not only our playground; it is our bread and butter. It is important to set the precedent now while the digital model is still in its infancy. Not only does this ensure fair compensation for a writer's work, it validates the web as a medium in some sense.
This is obviously important to us geeks. The WGA Writers may drive nicer cars than us but we could still empathize with their fight. As my good friend Dino
Demopoulos put it, "Just because we make no money doing this, doesn't mean they shouldn't."
GH: How many participants did you have?
JV: Since the action was in the inaction, it is impossible to truly get a sense of how many bloggers participated. That being said, we did have 35 confirmed participants promoting the event in advance of the big day.
The number may seem low but keep in mind that these were some very smart and prominent bloggers whose influence reaches far. You might even say to the very tip of the "long tail."
GH: How did you get the word out?
JV: Spreading the word was the easiest part (believe me; not contributing for 24 hours was the hardest). We basically started with a couple of blog posts and a Facebook event and left the rest to the amazing power of social media, as cliché as that sounds.
GH: Silence is an interesting tactic in a time where social media is driving conversation. How do you see this playing out?
JV: Sometimes there are so many conversations going on that silence is the only way to get noticed. Every day seems to be a race to how many blog posts you can complete, friends you can poke, e-mails you can clear, RSS feeds you can read, hits you can get, tweets you can tweet, etc.
And when everyone and everything around you stops, even for just one day, you take notice; At least in my mind.
GH: Do you plan on more activism? Will it follow a similar vein?
JV: I'm not sure Blog Nothing Day constitutes as activism but I suppose it did pop my proverbial cherry. I find it incredibly interesting and even more inspiring to see people with no former relationship or connection join together for a cause they believe in.
Obviously this concept is nothing new but technology has made it so much more obtainable. The web has made is possible to actually see and in real time how you have made an impact on the world around you and it is a very powerful thing. It has always been so difficult for us to realize that one person can make a difference and it is the Internet that is finally allowing us to see this is true.
These are exciting and hopeful times when anyone with a computer can make an impact, even a ripple. You no longer have to be a celebrity, politician, or corporation to have your voice heard. Amen! I'm not sure what's next for me but I am definitely looking forward to it.
GH: What would you do differently next time?
JV: More planning. Definitely more planning. It would have been nice to be able to create a home for Blog Nothing Day that wasn't trapped within Facebook or individual blogs. If we had given ourselves more time, it would have been nice to set up a wiki for everyone to collaborate on.
We also only had less than a week to get the word out… The web is fast but not that fast.
I think some people didn't realize it was Blog Nothing Day until the actual day of the event or even after. I'm thinking we could turn this into an annual thing. Perhaps pick a different cause to support each year and enjoy 24 hours of read-only web. We'll see. A year is a long time away.
Link.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Blog Nothing Day: The Morning After
If you happened to notice a certain 'lull' across the internets yesterday, there is a reason: It was Blog Nothing Day. Thank you to all all those who participated in this show of solidarity with the striking WGA Writers. Did we make a difference? Well, our silence was definitely heard. Whether in support of the idea or not, the blogging community took notice. I had a great e-mail conversation with Gavin Heaton last night for MarketingProfs and I will post it here once published later this week. It pretty much summed up the whole day.
A special shout out to the following for not only participating in Blog Nothing Day but also spreading the word:
Dino Demopoulos of Chroma
Darryl Ohrt of Brand Flakes for Breakfast
Jonathan Burg of Future Visions
Gavin Heaton of Servant of Chaos
Olivier Peyre of Trench Watch Daily
Steffania Paola
Seraphic Single
Paul McEnany of Hee-Haw Marketing
Uwe Hook of Uwe’s Blog
Bill Green of Make the Logo Bigger
Alison Jennings of Party of One
A special shout out to the following for not only participating in Blog Nothing Day but also spreading the word:
Dino Demopoulos of Chroma
Darryl Ohrt of Brand Flakes for Breakfast
Jonathan Burg of Future Visions
Gavin Heaton of Servant of Chaos
Olivier Peyre of Trench Watch Daily
Steffania Paola
Seraphic Single
Paul McEnany of Hee-Haw Marketing
Uwe Hook of Uwe’s Blog
Bill Green of Make the Logo Bigger
Alison Jennings of Party of One
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Tomorrow is Blog Nothing Day!
Just a friendly reminder that tomorrow, November 26th, is Blog Nothing Day in support of the WGA Writer's Strike. The rules are simple: Contribute nothing to the blogosphere for 24 hours. That means no posting and no commenting. In other words, the web is read only tomorrow... Or for the new media douche-bags, tomorrow is Web 1.0 day. As my good friend Dino so eloquently put it, "just because we make no money doing this, doesn't mean they shouldn't!"
Have a great Monday and remember, the action is in the inaction.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Breaking News: Blog Nothing Day - November 26, 2007
It is now day 16 of the WGA Writers Strike and I have finally decided to go public with my official stance: I support the writers. In these times of crisis we often ask ourselves "what can I do to help? I'm just one person." And it is in these times that we look to our leaders for inspiration. Unfortunately this is an area we've been lacking in, so I would like to quote the late John Fitzgerald Kennedy: "One person can make a difference and every person should try."
With that in mind, I am pleased to announce that next Monday, November 26th, is officially "Blog Nothing Day". For the entire day I will not update, comment, or contribute to the blogosphere in support of the WGA Writers Strke and I urge you to do the same. By supporting Blog Nothing Day, you are supporting the WGA and making a REAL difference. Spread the word!
Update: Please join the facebook event here.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Fuck The Real World. I'm An Artist: Volume 1
Sometimes when I get bored, I like to pretend I'm an artist. Unfortunately, I'm just a hack with a creative streak. The result of which is the following. Forgive me.
Friday, November 9, 2007
Rock | Paper | Scissors : 3rd Edition
Happy Friday. Enjoy!
Rock: Brian McCarty - Toy Photographer in Los Angeles, California
Paper: Marguerite Sauvage - Illustrator in France
Scissors: Elba Fernández - Photographer in Flickr
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